


dusty windows

by enesnl



Category: The Half of It (2020)
Genre: Canon Continuation, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24172915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enesnl/pseuds/enesnl
Summary: Aster sends a message at 3:04pm.
Relationships: Ellie Chu/Aster Flores
Comments: 11
Kudos: 372





	dusty windows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sorrymom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorrymom/gifts).



> tbh idk if this is actually good or not but...pls enjoy anyway

Aster sends a message at 3:04pm. This isn't how she pictured it would happen. After nights of staring at the last rows of exchanged messages, after the multiple times she's fluttered across the British Literature section of her university library, hardback cover of _The Remains of the Day_ pricking at her resolve, Aster finds herself pressing _send_ a few steps out of her East Asian Cinema class.

**_DiegaRivero_ **: I just watched In the Mood for Love

Because Wim Wenders and Wong Kar Wai go hand in hand, right? She thinks it's fitting that she burst back into Ellie's life as suddenly as Ellie had sprouted color into hers. Four years of mute glances and unseen smiles was just the start of a ripple. Curiosity from afar is as is; tentative, like the first dip of a brush into the flood. Eager for a splash.

**_SmithCorona_ **: My dad loves that movie

Aster lights up, and she kind of hates how quickly it comes - the feeling of a swollen chest, long dormant, and the damp hands that go with it. She moves to find a quiet spot under a tree. There's a girl across the quad waving at her, and it takes Aster a second to recognize that they share a class together. She waves back, signature Aster Flores smile in tow. Things haven't changed much since she'd left Squahamish, as in she hasn't ‘met anyone’, in that sense. Not that Portland is lacking in that department, but𑁋

**_SmithCorona_ **: I saw The Remains of the Day in a bookstore the other day

𑁋Aster finds that forming a connection with someone is difficult no matter where you go. She laughs and begins to tap in a response. There's birdsong streaming through the branches above her.

**_DiegaRivero_ **: Did you buy it?

 **_SmithCorona_ **: …I already have a copy

 **_DiegaRivero_ **: Dork

 **_SmithCorona_ **: Heyyy >:[

 **_DiegaRivero_ **: I see you use emoticons now… but they still don't count as emojis

 **_SmithCorona_ **: 🙄

 **_DiegaRivero_ **: 😘

Aster chuckles. She likes change, even if it's as light as a graze. It means the seasons still turn. She wants to know what else has changed, and wonders if "how are you" is too cliche, too generic for the girl that left her breathless 16 months back. A lifetime.

**_SmithCorona_ **: It's only been a year and a half

 **_SmithCorona_ **: You're early 😲

Ellie is brave and straightforward, but considerate too. Aster is eternally grateful.

There's a door being held open, now. Ellie is standing on the other side with a smile and a tendered hand, saying: _come in, or don't, it's okay_. 

Aster's first instinct is to close the door and move away. But instinct is nothing but a shallow threshold, and - maybe she wants to step in this time.

**_DiegaRivero_ **: I'm a fast learner

 **_SmithCorona_ **: Hmm

Aster bites her lip. Everything is in her court. Dead leaves are drifting down onto the grass beside her and piling in clusters. 

She cooks up a challenge.

**_DiegaRivero_ **: He remembers those vanished years...

A few moments pass, and Aster wonders if Ellie's googling the quote. It's something Aster would do in her position - to sound smart.

**_SmithCorona_ **: As though looking through a dusty window pane, the past is something he could see, but not touch

 **_DiegaRivero_ **: And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.

 **_DiegaRivero_ **: See? Impeccable memory

...

 **_SmithCorona_ **: I remember things too

Then everything stills. There's just the quicken of Aster's heartbeat and the sound of wind whipping at her hair, tucked gingerly behind her ear. Aster fixates on the message for a while. Snapshots of train tracks, yellow paint, overhanging trees fill her mind. She can almost feel the hot water upon her skin. It's so easy to sink. 

**_SmithCorona_ **: Sorry I actually have to get to class

 **_SmithCorona_ **: But we can talk later if you'd like

3:26pm.

Aster sighs, and narrows her eyes at the horizon. The sun sets too early these days. 

🚗

Aster shoulders an overnight bag at 2:13am. It'll suffice for a day or two. She pockets her phone and swipes her set of keys from the bedside table, hearing it tinkle in the silence. Her bed is left unmade.

The drive doesn't feel long, and it's the heart of morning when she arrives. Restaurants are beginning to open and seniors are loitering outside, waiting for their window of discounts. All of it is so normal, so routine.

In no time she finds herself standing on the porch steps of the Chu residence, face-to-face with Paul freaking Munsky, and for the first time since she'd left home she thinks - maybe she should have thought this through.

(Wanting at day and wanting at night is different.)

"Aster?" Paul says, bewildered look on his face. "This is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

Aster's arms cross themselves in defense, and she takes a step back. "What are _you_ doing here?"

She'd actually forgiven him pretty quickly after the deceit. Mainly because Ellie trusts him, and Aster trusts Ellie, in spite of it all. But she still isn't sure herself what she's doing here.

"I'm preparing a feast with Mr. Chu," Paul says with a proud smile, disregarding her tone. "It takes a few hours so I got here really early."

"Oh. That's sweet of you."

"Are you here for Ellie? She isn't here right now but she'll be back in- "

"I actually have to go," Aster turns on her heel, making haste out of that situation. "It was nice seeing you Paul."

"You too, Aster!" Paul yells down the street. "I'll tell Ellie you stopped by!"

Aster doesn't respond, just gets in her car and slams the door shut. Her breathing is a little heavy, but she isn't as tense now.

It's sweet that he's still the same old Paul. He still wears the same goofy smile and even the same brown jacket, although it looks a bit worn around the edges now.

Aster buckles in, and starts the engine. She goes to the only place she can find comfort in this small town. 

🚗

The water is as warm as she remembers. Healing. 

Aster found company in the spring after Ellie had flown off to Grinnell. Fall classes wouldn't start for another couple of months, but Iowa means moving and acclimating and adventure, and PNCA is nothing but a 4-hour drive.

Aster sighs, and shifts into a float. She stays like that for a long stretch of time, who knows how long, until she hears soft rustling near the trees. 

Aster smiles, anticipating. Only one other person knows of this place.

"You didn't reply to my message."

Aster keeps her eyes comfortably closed. "No cell reception."

A snort. "Right."

Aster gestures with her hand. "Aren't you going to come in?"

"Um," Ellie utters, in Ellie-fashion. Aster's missed that. "It's a little- a lot scary."

Aster's sight breaks through, and she fixes her gaze on the cloudless sky above. "I know I don't show it.. but I'm probably more scared than you are right now."

A few seconds pass. Then the sounds of clothes being discarded and a body gently lowering itself into the water.

Ellie starts the offense with a bang. "Are you sure now?"

Aster lets out a roaring laugh. It echoes throughout the woods as a few birds fly up from tree tops. "You're always asking the hard questions."

"I don't know what else to ask!" Ellie groans. "I'm not good at social things."

"Hmm," Aster hums. "An easy question would be 'how's college life?'"

"How's college life, Aster?"

"I asked you first," Aster smirks. She can almost see the big eye-roll Ellie must be giving her.

"It's fine," Ellie answers simply. 

"Just fine?"

"Well the classes are a bit harder and I do copy editing on the side now. Pays better than writing other people's essays."

"Oh I'm sure," Aster affirms. A beat. "Why are you here during the school season?"

"It's Chinese New Years. I've never spent it without my dad, so.."

"That must be nice."

"Yeah, it is." Ellie makes waves with her hand. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Why are you here." Ellie enunciates. 

Aster sighs, and sets herself upright. Ellie is pressed up against the edge of the spring, and her face hasn't aged a bit, but she's got shoulder-length hair and side bangs now. It feels so good to see her. "I wanted to - feel your presence," she says, and moves closer. Laces her fingers with Ellie's above the surface of the water, and fixes her with a look.

_Does the bold stroke._

"Oh," Ellie exhales, eyes like saucers. Aster can see her chest rise and fall. 

She sweeps the curve of Ellie's fringe out of her features, palm settling on the cusp of Ellie's jaw. Their breaths mingle together. "It is a restless moment," Aster begins.

A second passes, then Ellie's pupils show recollection. "She has kept her head lowered..." she continues.

"To give him a chance to come closer." Aster is brushing Ellie's cheek with soft, pruny fingers.

"But he could not, for lack of courage." Ellie's voice has quieted into a whisper.

"She turns," Aster draws a tongue over her lips, "and-

Leans in.

**Author's Note:**

> i mostly write for kpop but my twtr/cc is @enesnl if you'd like


End file.
